‘The Foreign Office is asking the high court to sit in secret when former foreign secretary Jack Straw faces a damages claim over his alleged role in the abduction and torture of a Libyan dissident and his pregnant wife.’

‘This blog is the first covering the series of three important judgments given on Tuesday by the Supreme Court on issues arising out of the War on Terror and the United Kingdom’s interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Belhaj and another v Straw and others) and Rahmatullah (No 1) v Ministry of Defence and another [2017] UKSC 3 involved the alleged complicity of United Kingdom officials in allegedly tortious acts of the UK or other states overseas. The torts alleged include unlawful detention and rendition, torture or cruel and inhuman treatment and assault.’

‘In a week when Supreme Court watchers expected to dissect the Brexit judgment, the Justices instead handed down their long awaited decision in the joined cases of Belhaj & Ors v Straw & Ors; Rahmatullah (No 1) v Ministry of Defence & Ors [2017] UKSC 3. These appeals both involved unsuccessful attempts to strike out claims based on allegations of UK complicity in international wrongs – including torture and rendition and arbitrary detention – on the basis that our domestic courts should not exercise their jurisdiction in either case.’

‘Lawyers representing a Libyan husband and wife who were kidnapped and flown to one of Muammar Gaddafi’s prisons are seeking to overturn a decision that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute a former MI6 officer for his alleged role.’

‘A human rights group has challenged the government’s refusal to disclose whether ministers or Downing Street officials were involved in a decision not to prosecute anyone over an espionage operation to kidnap two Libyan dissidents.’

‘The government has spent at least £600,000 of taxpayers’ money trying to prevent a civil case being brought against it by a husband and wife who allege that British intelligence was complicit in their detention, rendition and torture.’

‘Prosecutors are set to announce that they are bringing no charges following a police investigation into MI6’s involvement in the kidnapping of two families who were “rendered” to the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s prisons, despite protests by the victims and their lawyers that the evidence against the agency is overwhelming.’

‘The relationship that the British security services forged with Muammar Gaddafi’s regime a decade ago amounted to “a criminal conspiracy with a foreign dictator”, according to evidence before the high court, where a dozen Libyan dissidents who were subsequently targeted by the British authorities are bringing a claim for damages.’

‘The former prime minister Tony Blair has been asked to give evidence to a parliamentary committee looking into the failure to include UK victims of IRA violence in a compensation deal with the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.’

‘The government should address the core allegations of 12 claimants who say they were kidnapped, tortured, subject to control orders or tricked into travelling to Libya where they were detained or mistreated, a high court judge has said.’

‘Belhaj and another v Straw and Others [2013] EWHC 4111 (QB) 20 December 2013. The High Court has struck out claims against British establishment defendants for “unlawful rendition”. The doctrine of immunity attaching to an act of state is total bar to that such claims and is not limited by the gravity of the alleged violation of rights.’

“GCHQ is probably intercepting legally privileged communications between lawyers and their clients, according to a detailed claim filed on behalf of eight Libyans involved in politically sensitive compensation battles with the UK.”

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